I want to first start off by giving thanks to all my followers and people that have supported me in the past years. The next few months will be huge for Combat Trainer. Every year around this time people’s diets start to drift and extra pounds are packed on.  Don’t let the holiday season kill a years worth of hard work in the gym.  Now we all know Thanksgiving is a day in which majority of us will be eating non-stop all day.  Most experts will tell you to go for a nice brisk walk after your turkey day dinner.  That may be fine to get the blood flowing again but there is no way you are losing all the calories that you have just put into yourself.

Now i understand that there is not a lot of time to train on a holiday, but I am here to give you a nice short training session that will not only help build muscle but will also allow you to burn calories and allow yourself that extra piece of Sweet Potato Pie.  The first training session that you can do that will crush those calories and at the same time turn you into a beast is a variation of the Litvinov Workout.  You may have read about some of these workouts in previous posts and boy do they get the job done.  Now the video you will see below is the Litvinov using a hundred pound kettlebell.  Yes, I know you may not own a kettlebell that size but you may own a smaller one or even a pair of dumbbells.  Since the kettlebell is a heavier one you will only see me swing the bell for a handful of reps.  If you have a lighter bell you can swing for up to thirty reps.

Now you are not just swinging the bell and stopping, after you are done swinging you must drop the bell and take off in a full speed sprint.  How many sets you may ask, well if done right between four and five sets will be good enough and then you can call it a day.  This short training session will help develop power as well as burn off calories during and after the training session and allow you to give a little extra thanks at the dinner table.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Over the last few years I realized that I was missing something in my training.  Now I was training hard and seeing results but there was one component that was missing.  The thing that was missing was actually training for a purpose.  In my mind that meant some type of competition.

So I was always looking for something to compete in.  Then in December while I was on Facebook I came across an ad for the Spartan Race.  So I clicked on it read that it was a three-mile race with obstacles and I was instantly hooked.  I signed up as fast as I could.  Finally I found something that I could train for that really interested me.

So last week I took the Spartan challenge in Tuxedo, New York.  Did I do as well as I thought I would?  Not a chance.  So while I was in the middle of the race I just kept thinking about two things.  Finishing the race and not quitting and how I could change up my training to do better the next time out.

When you try something new in your life especially something physical like this you quickly realize your weaknesses.  Let me restate that, your weaknesses smack you in the face.  My main weakness was my aerobic capacity.  Running up and down a ski slope can make you realize this quickly.   Now those of you that know me, I do not run long distances, just not my thing.  So in my training I tried to run the least amount, plus the aggravating shin splints also restricted too much running.  While running up those hills and crawling under barbed wire I was reminded of another weakness that I have known about but been avoiding.  My hips were so tight, in other words I need to increase my hip flexibility.  Running up hill as your hips tighten up, not so pleasant.

So after rinsing all the mud off of me and walking to the car for the hour drive home, I just kept thinking about the ways to fix these problems as I train for the next Spartan Race.  So as I gear up for the Spartan Sprint in Massachusetts I am making the minor adjustments in my training.  I will be adding a lot more single legwork in my strength training for my hips and adding some running to the program.  But most of the running will be going uphill pulling a sled behind me.  With these adjustments in training I will see better results.

If you are interested in competing in one of theses obstacle races and would like to know how to train for one please contact me.

Train Hard! Train Smart!

“Six A.M. may be too early for me to handle you,” Combat Trainer snarls in a less than chipper tone.  From the back, of the car chimes in my husband who states, “She can be a lot for most people.”  I dismiss them both and continue being a mixture of anxiety and sheer joyous excitement.

8:30 is the start of the Metro Dash NY/NJ leg and we are en route to The Meadowlands Arena.  I am a person who functions very well on very little sleep.  Oddly keeping very alert and enthusiastic especially when nerves or new adventures are ahead.

Once at the Dash I am suddenly quiet and observant.  A dynamic warmup and preview, a few pee breaks and a quick walk around the perimeter of the course later and our “heat” begins.  Luckily, I find three woman athletes who welcome me as the fourth in their group.  I insisted to not be in the same go around as Rob so our friendship does not hinder his competitive streak.  It worked out well as he was finishing I was just beginning.

Much of the Dash in afterthought is a blur.  I can however, fully recall all my areas of weakness.  As a competitor I find my success often is short lived in exchange for trying to improve what I deem as weaker points or failure.  The 16 foot cargo stands out as the largest nemesis of the day, followed by the 8foot wall climb and monkey bars, gasp.  I climbed my Combat Trainer clad ass up all 16 feet to only find myself unable to throw myself over the top to descend back down.  Fear of falling and thudding onto the gym class mat below as a previous athlete in an earlier heat had done as well as the fear of kicking my heat mates in the face proved to be overwhelming.  My own thoughts deafening me, making me unable to from hearing shouts of advice and encouragement from below.

The Dash itself was fun.  The obstacles a good mix of expected and “oh shit”.  My upperbody mocked by rope climbs and monkey bars, my legs pleased by climbing and carries.  My finishing time 18:25 with three sets of penalty burpees.

On the way home all I could think of was that I wanted to turn back and do it again, immediately, and what I could do better.  I was also reminded of what my husband had said on the ride in, using the words “most people”.  I was never so happy to not be “most people”.  The “most people” who were still asleep in comfort as I fling myself over wooden walls, banging my shins on sledgehammers, swinging kettlebells, and dragging sleds in the dark at my trainer’s house for late training sessions.  Nine months ago I may have been “most people” but all I know is at this time, stronger, fitter, thinner and a warrior feels good and I will take it because I will do what most people won’t!

By Cat Rivera

Training for an event like the Metro Dash does something to your thought process.  With all the mental and physical preparation that takes place in your quest to attain such a goal, you begin to clearly see how internal competition, mental toughness and willingness to go through obstacles are so prevalent to so much of our lives.  How complicated we as people make so many things in our lives like change, yet how simple we accept other things like failure.

Along with these things that can “throw you” or “grow you”, come the ability to actually put into better perspective the small things that often derail us. The Dash has allowed me to push my own limits as to what I expect from myself mentally and physically.  It has also allowed me to shake off more easily the nay sayers and negative people who really mean they feel they can’t when they say that I shouldn’t.  Accomplishing physical feats in the recent months has only strengthened my resolve to overcome my own self inflicted limitations.

One activity that favors an athlete’s ability to change quickly, deal with mishaps fast and without the luxury to harp on small failure that Combat Trainer has implemented as a vital part of our Dash training is the agility ladder sequence.  This is when you follow your partner through a sequence of agility drills designed to make your feet and mind fast.  Synchronizing movements and then having to quickly regain composure at your quickest speed in order to keep going is important in all sports and life.  No time for self doubt or to harp on a small mishap.  Get back in step and catch up.  There is also something therapeutic about following someone on their heels and knowing that they will be right behind you too.

A 10 minute round of constant movement during these agility activities will indeed work up a sweat and condition you as well.  Cycling through high knees, icky shuffle, bunny hops, even adding sprawls will make you faster in footwork, build leg and knee stability and leg power as well as mental responsiveness.  These activities in repetition look deceptively easy but are fun, fast and important in training both in general and for the Dash.

So, move forward in your training always, keep quick in mind and body, follow a good leader, don’t harp on small mishaps in footing or life.  Do not make failure simple or success complicated, just keep it moving!

By Cat Rivera

I am livid. I’m standing in front of 33inches of hurdle and I am paralyzed and mentally unable to fling myself over it.  I have carried 55lb sandbags, carried a 9 foot slosh pipe 50 yards, crawled like a bear 100 yards, done countless agility and pylometric activities, pulled a weighted sled and pushed a weighted prowler and these 33 inches are mocking me.  “I cannot do this.” I utter. With those words my mind has decided defeat for my body.

“O.K., we are done with this,” Rob calmly says as he walks over to the stadium stairs and starts vertically leaping them three at a time.  “Jump these,” he says.  I do. I jump those stairs despite my pouting and inner grumblings about my own self defeat. The hurdles are not mentioned throughout the rest of the training session.  He knows I am angry and that my anger alone is bad but paired with stubbornness and pride has me in a “bad head”.

As I leave to go home Combat Trainer simply says, “Don’t ever say you cannot do something because I would never tell you that you can’t do anything.”  I am toast!  Right then and there I fire myself as my internal coach and let him in as my new and improved internal coach.  I learned this day that sometimes it is necessary to deafen the things you have been saying to yourself because they just don’t work for you anymore. Fear and the cannots have no use here anymore.  I admit that having unwavering confidence and trust in another person’s view of your capabilities makes hiring a new internal trainer easier.

When I finally crawl into bed, hours after training had ended and what felt like a lifetime of doing other things though out the day, there was that damn hurdle again. My eyes closed I lay there with a head full of hurdles and saw myself jumping them, my newly hired internal coach with quiet confidence pushing me forward. I went to bed knowing that “Hurdle, your ass is mine!”.

I am urging you to go and hire an internal coach.  Find someone who sees you in a way you always wanted to be seen, as a warrior, a competitor, an athlete, a doer, a light, a person who matters, whatever it is you need to stomp out fear and get you on your way to greatness.  Find that person and make their words your new internal dialogue.  It will help you jump hurdles and not just the 33 inch kind.  I think that if you look hard enough, your life has a few good internal coaches, they may not be ourselves, but in time they should be.

My internal coach will be with me on the Metro Dash and that will only be its first of many things it will drive me over, under and through.

As you all know I specialize in MMA strength and conditioning training. Training fighters and turning them into athletes is what I do at Combat Trainer. However, I do train people like athletes as well to reach their full potential. For the next couple of weeks there will be some guest post from a member on Team Combat Trainer as I prepare her to compete in the Metro Dash. Not only is she competing but yours truly is also making a run at it. If you don’t know what the Metro Dash is then go check it out and see what fun we are in store for. She will be writing about her experiences training under the Combat Trainer System. So without further delay here it is…

The Education of a Makeup Artist

By Cathy Rivera

“But, you have such a pretty face, if you could only loose a little weight.”  The dreaded phrases that every robust teenage girl has heard and most likely reruns through her mind through adulthood.  A backhanded compliment only for the ears of a “curvy, chubby, thick, fat,  girl.

This darkened compliment is what started my love of cosmetology and hatred for my own body.  It became my mask and my blessing.  I figured that if my face was all I got, let me slap some war paint on it and get moving.

Weight consumed me as I consumed less and less yet expanded more and more.  In college, my weight stabilized due to two hour a day Rugby practices paired with working at the campus gym.  Instead of gaining the frosh 15, I lost 20lbs.  Rugby was where I first tapped into my own Warrior Spirit.  The sport is dirty, strategic, competitive and physically demanding.  I lived for the adrenaline and pushing the will and limits of myself and team members.

College ended and so did my involvement with athletics besides the gym and an occasional class.  The pounds came faithfully calling despite my three times a week visits to a sports club where they don’t have nor promote sports.  My weight obsession shifted focus to feeling defeated, complaining and self-deprivation.  Depleted of calories and confidence, life still went on.  I got engaged, started night school, worked a full time teaching job and started my makeup business and thankfully found my way standing in front of Rob of Combat Trainer, knowing that I had found what my fitness training needed.

My sneakers were on and I was ready, all my goals out on the table and the belief that true change takes letting go of past failures and a submission to someone who may just know better about what your fitness body needs even if you have been the one lugging it around all these years.  I found myself once again being viewed as an athlete.  I was again the capable, competitive, driven, athlete with a physical ability to push and grow strong.  More than my muscles were understood that day.  My Competitive Warrior Spirit was reignited.

I was not being insulted by female marketed promises of thin, pink weights, and  glittery activities but treated as someone in control of both her body and fitness.  I gained a trainer and a coach because I no longer “work out,” I train!

For me, the statement that launched a thousand deadlifts was uttered mid training during a basement   session when most people are winding down their evenings and we are just starting to muster a sweat.  “Do you want a sitter’s ass or a sprinters ass?” Rob said as I stood apprehensive in front of a weighted barbell.  Four dress sizes, countless enjoyable training hours, increased strength and a sprinter’s ass and legs later it is clear what I have really gained.  I have acquired a mentor who has paved the way to my own fitness career, a passion for the workings of my own body, a love for wanting a strong body and mind not simply a smaller one, and a deep desire for others to find a love for themselves.  My Warrior Spirit has been reignited after lying dormant for so long.

What better way to pay respect to the trainer and changes I have been blessed with than to join Team Combat Trainer this upcoming May in New York’s Metro Dash!  Train, compete, grow and evolve with me throughout my journey to the finish because this warrior is more than just a pretty Doll Face.

You are an athlete!

In the past you have read about Sergey Litvinov’s training sessions.  Using a modified version of his training I have incorporated his methods into the training of my fighters as well as in my own training.  To be honest this is one of my favorite training methods, especially when time is an issue.

The original Litvinov workout that he performed was front squat 410 pounds then sprint 400 meters.  Repeat this three times and finish it off with a set of eight front squats and call it a day.  Now we mortals will probably have some trouble getting the weight out to the track never mind front squatting that much, so in honor of Sergey there are many different variations that can be performed.  Just click here to check out the different variations.

Taking this method of training and improving on it or making it more difficult is always fun.  Recently you all know I had the opportunity to purchase a Prowler.  The Prowler is a great training tool and I have seen many athletes lying on the concrete after it’s use.  For this variation of the Litvinov, I used kettlebell swings with a Prowler push for fifty yards.  I used an unloaded Prowler, as I wanted to be able to explode with it and move it fast.  This variation of the swings and Prowler push will help develop lower body power and just make you an explosive combat athlete.

Train Hard! Train Smart!

UFC Fight Night Live is tomorrow night and in the main event will pit Antonio Rogerio Nogueira going up against Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis.  While waiting in line at the UFC expo in Boston I had the pleasure of meeting Davis’ father and had the opportunity to talk to him for about an hour.  Somewhere in the United States Davis’ dad will be watching his son fight wearing his Combat Trainer tee shirt.

You could really say that I am connected to Mr. Wonderful for I had the chance to interview his strength and conditioning coach, Doug Balzarini, a few months ago as well.  So you know who I will be rooting for in the main event. Searching for training footage, I came across Davis training with what is known as a Slosh Pipe.  Now this Slosh Pipe is a mini version of the normal Slosh Pipe that would serve as a great training tool.

I first came across a Slosh Pipe when I met a training partner of mine and I also read about them in an article written by Dan John.  A typical Slosh Pipe is about nine feet long and four to six inches in diameter.  You fill the pipe, which by the way is PVC pipe, fill it up with about 30-40 pounds of water.  Now cap both ends of the PVC and then start walking with it, pressing it overhead, think of something to do with it and I am sure that it will be challenging with the water sloshing around.

In the video below you will see Davis using a mini version of the Slosh Pipe to work on his rotational power.  As you know having explosive rotational power can be very beneficial in MMA and in sports in general.  It will help with punching power, your takedowns and other aspects of MMA.  So if you looking for a cheap way to get strong look to get to a hardware store and make yourself a Slosh Pipe.
Train Hard! Train Smart!
Rob DeCillis CSCS

UFC 126 is this Saturday. In the main event Anderson Silva will be taking on Vitor Belfort for the Middleweight Championship of the world. That fight alone would sell tons of pay per views but the rest of the card is stacked as well.
The fight I am really looking forward to is between two of the most explosive athletes in the UFC today as Ryan Bader takes on Jon Jones. Since I began this website I have been talking about how the future of MMA champions will be determined by how athletic they are. I guess the future is hitting a little sooner. Both Bader and Jones show true athleticism when they are in the Octagon.
So in my hunt for training video of these two great fighters I was able to come up with some Jon Jones videos to show. In this segment I am going to show you two videos. The first is of Jones pushing a sled in almost like a bear crawl fashion. Now you have seen on my site before some of the sled work as well as plate pushes across the turf. The sled pushes that Jones is training in the video help with strengthening the legs. I will tell you his quads are filling up with blood and he is getting a nice burn as he performs this exercise. The sled pushes also help with explosive leg drive which in the sport of MMA is essential in not only takedowns but in punching and kicking power as well.
The second video is of Jon Jones working on explosive front raises using some kind of pulley system. This exercise works on Jones’ power as well as his muscle endurance in his shoulders, which can come in handy in later rounds of the fights. This can also be done with bands that give the right resistance. As you do them feel your shoulders burn.
So check out both videos and if you have not already done so get out there and buy yourself a sled and start pulling and pushing that thing around.
Train Hard! Train Smart!

Back in high school I competed in a couple of sports throughout the year. In the fall I played soccer, winter was wrestling season and in the spring it was track and field. The best part about both wrestling and track and field was the fact that they are pretty much individual sports. In order to win you need to depend on yourself to get yourself the victory. Sports like these can teach you a lot about yourself.
Well the one sport I want to discuss in more detail is track and field. You all thought I was going to say wrestling since yes this is a combat sports training website. But there is a lot we can take from track and field that can help us in our training as combat athletes.
As a track athlete I competed in two events, the 100m dash and the 400m. These all out sprints are some of the most grueling events I competed in high school. Yeah it’s one thing to get crossed faced on the mat and get a bloody nose while your mother looks on in horror and it’s another thing to sprint as fast as you can for 400m. The 400m has been said by many one of the hardest races and of course I picked it.
While training for these events I ended up sprinting a lot in practice. Back in those days I was not what you call a very athletic looking lad. That started to change a bit when I began to sprint nearly everyday. As a puny little high school kid I began to see some changes in power I had as well as the musculature in my legs. I was explosive and in great shape.
When I first started to train combat athletes I would use in my conditioning a lot of the circuit type training that “mimics” a fight. These circuits work very well and I continue to use them in coaching of fighters. Looking back though on how I felt after sprinting 400m and how I feel after some sparring I noticed the two feelings were very similar. Sprinting like many combat sports including MMA are anaerobic sports. So that being said I began incorporating sprinting into my fighters programs as well as in my own training and the results have been great.
With my fighters I also make sure that I coach them in proper sprinting mechanics. Now I know they are not going to be world-class sprinters but rather world-class fighters but teaching proper mechanics makes the athlete sprint not only faster but more efficiently. A more efficient sprinter will be able to last longer during conditioning and maximize there time in training.
For those of you that like to sprint or even want to give sprinting a shot to increase your conditioning I am going to give a four-week program below to help you achieve that goal. Each week there will be two sprint sessions. You will be surprised that these sessions are short and sweet but are very effective.

Week 1
Day One
6 sets 50m sprints
Day Two
4 sets 50m sprints
2 sets 100m sprints

Week 2

Day One

5 sets 100m sprints

Day Two
3 sets 100m sprints
2 sets 200m sprints

Week 3

Day One
5 sets 200 m sprints
Day Two
1 set 100m sprints
2 sets 200m sprints
2 sets 400m sprints

Week 4

Day One
1 set 200m sprints
4 sets 400m sprints

Recovery
As for recovery if you were training to be a track star then full recovery would be necessary. As forgetting ready for a fight I tell my combat athletes to sprint when they are ready. This affords them the opportunity to sprint when ready and recover but push themselves on there own pace. As they become used to the sprinting they adapt to the stimulus and take shorter and shorter recovery times.
Train Hard! Train Smart